TV licence query

RoboDog

Hi All,

I have recently moved into a new flat in London & was hoping that you guys could provide me with some information regarding TV licenses.

I currently do not own a TV. If I were to buy a TV, it would only be to hook it up to my laptop & watch DVD’s & TV shows that I have downloaded onto my laptop. I have no desire to & never will watch any form of TV other than what I have mentioned above. Hence, if I were to buy a TV & only plug it in to the power outlet, would I need to pay for the TV Licence?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,

fred7777

No you don't.

A TV license is needed to watch live TV programmes not to own a TV or use it for other purposes.

I checked with TV licensing a few years ago when getting a TV for a club where we wouldn't use it for viewing TV programmes. They told me I didn't need a license but recommended keeping it detuned to prevent anyone breaking the law.

RoboDog

Thanks Fred!
What do you mean by "Detuned" & how could anyone break the law?
If the TV is plugged in to the power outlet only & I am not paying TV Licence, would I be bending any rules whatsoever & would the licencing authorities be able to harass me about anything??

mrred66

hi robodog,

in short yes you do but if you look at bit deeper ask yourself why do you need a license to own a tv? do you have a dvd, toaster, pc, or kettle license?
the term 'tv licence' is wrong for a start as you do not need a licence to own a tv, what the bbc tell us is that we need to pay them £140 a year....for ever, because they do not allow adverts(only their own) and they do not go pay per view like sky.
the term tv license is a smokescreen, the bbc tell us we need a license for an xbox, ps3 or even a mobile phone if we dont have a tv.
what they mean is that if we have a pc, mobile phone,xbox or a tv, we MIGHT watch their product.
you may buy a bbc made dvd from comet,currys etc and watch it on your unlicensed tv with no problems but the company bbc employ to enforce the license rule say that you COULD plug it in when they are not there...so you have to pay... so we are told.

i have not not have a license for 5 years as i believe it is the biggest rip off ever and i cannot believe their isnt more made of this.

DO NOT buy a license.

mrred66

think about this,

if you only have one of the following...
xbox
ps3
computer
mobile phone
tv (even if it is detuned to watch itv/ch4 only)

the bbc say we need a license because we might/could plug any of the above in to watch their bbc product.

they scare us with a £1000 fine when in reality they have no legal right to enter our home and catch us watching their bbc product.
they scare us with their bbc detector vans, can anyone tell me when did they ever see one on the road??

no license for 5 years = 140x5=£700 not given to the bbc.

if you did have a bbc license can anyone tell me why we have to pay more money to sky to watch uk gold which are old classics (dads army only fools horses etc)
if we buy a bbc dvd from argos/currys why do we need to buy it as our license money has already paid to make the programme.
why did bbc have a find the new dorothy programme recently? isnt the winner on a west end musical now which we have to pay to see?
do you like helping jonathan woss earn a £18 million salary?

rant over!

RoboDog

Hi Mrred, thank you very much for all that information. I must confess that I don't know anything about the licensing rules & regulations, but I want to avoid any legal hassles, bailiffs & threatening letters. I agree that it might be a rip off, but I still don't want to bend any rules to avoid paying it & hence don’t want to do anything for which I can be regarded as eligible to pay. Keeping that in mind, should I still go ahead & buy a TV only to plug in to the power outlet or would I be better off buying a large monitor?
Thanks

OK_Sauce

From the TV licensing website

'You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.'

Full info here

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/

Mrs_Arcanum

RoboDog wrote: »

Hi Mrred, thank you very much for all that information. I must confess that I don't know anything about the licensing rules & regulations, but I want to avoid any legal hassles, bailiffs & threatening letters. I agree that it might be a rip off, but I still don't want to bend any rules to avoid paying it & hence don’t want to do anything for which I can be regarded as eligible to pay. Keeping that in mind, should I still go ahead & buy a TV only to plug in to the power outlet or would I be better off buying a large monitor?
Thanks

Better spending the money on a large monitor. TV Licensing (not the BBC) will nag you no end to prove you do not use a TV to watch "as broadcast" programmes.

mrred66

RoboDog wrote: »

Hi Mrred, thank you very much for all that information. I must confess that I don't know anything about the licensing rules & regulations, but I want to avoid any legal hassles, bailiffs & threatening letters. I agree that it might be a rip off, but I still don't want to bend any rules to avoid paying it & hence don’t want to do anything for which I can be regarded as eligible to pay. Keeping that in mind, should I still go ahead & buy a TV only to plug in to the power outlet or would I be better off buying a large monitor?
Thanks

if you were to buy a monitor and download/record/burn to disc and watch the programme later (not live) you would still be breaking the law invented by bbc in the fifties when there was no competition.
if you have a monitor you would be breaking the law by downloading bbc stuff either watching it later or now.
any way around it you are breaking 'their' made up law.

you are better off telling the bbc that you dont have a tv and dont invite them in, if they see a tv, monitor/laptop even an old 'house brick' mobile phone they will say that you COULD watch their programme.

incredibly each time a tv license chap knocks on my door (twice in 5 years) their is only the house holders brother at home who cannot legally invite him in to check! ((if you know what i mean))

davemurgatroyd

A TV licence is required to watch any live broadcast regardless of the medium used (TV, PC iPad etc) and this includes live shows on platforms such as iPlayer, ITV Player, Sky Player etc. One is not required if you merely watch "catch-up" TV services that are not broadcasting "live" or "nearly live" TV.